Andrew Cain of Phoenix, one of two left-handers to survive the Professional Bowlers Association Shark Championship qualifying round, surged past PBA Hall of Famer Pete Weber with a 223 final game to lead the fourth and final animal pattern event in the GEICO PBA World Series of Bowling VIII at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno, Nev., Friday.

Cain (pictured above), a former Team USA member and past-president of the United States Bowling Association, rolled games of 224, 255, 207, 222, 236, 221, 258 and 223 on the demanding 43-foot Shark oiling pattern to lead the 24 players who advanced to the Shark Championship best-of-five-game elimination matches next Wednesday. Cain and the seven other top qualifiers earned first-round byes in match play.

The Shark round also produced a first in PBA Tour competition as husband-and-wife Mitch and Ingellimar Beasley of Clarksville, Tenn., both qualified for match play. Mitch tied for 12th; his wife, a Venezuela native, was the other left-hander to finish among the top 24.

“I was sick last week and couldn’t practice, so it took a while to get my legs under me,” Cain said. “I was particularly focused on this condition, and I was able to make good shots all night – stay in the moment and go through the process.”

Cain (right) is trying for his first PBA Tour title. His best previous finish was a tie for third in the 2015 Cheetah Championship.

At the conclusion of the Shark round, the top 42 qualifiers based on combined totals of eight games in each of the four animal pattern events advanced to the PBA World Championship cashers’ round Sunday morning.

The eight-game round will cull the field to the top 24 players for three eight-game head-to-head match play rounds Sunday evening and Monday. Based on 56 total games, the five top players will compete for the PBA World Championship, the final major of the 2016 season, live on ESPN on Sunday, Dec. 11, at 1 p.m. ET.

The 32-game qualifying totals also determined the U.S. bowlers who will meet five international players in a special USA vs. The World team match on Sunday, Dec. 11, for delayed broadcast on ESPN.

Leading the World Championship qualifiers after his final round Friday was Tackett who has unfinished business on his mind after leading the field into last year’s live ESPN stepladder finals, only to lose to Gary Faulkner Jr. of Memphis, Tenn., in the title match.

Pete Weber (left), who remains in contention for his 38th career PBA Tour title, spent more of his preparation time for the World Series in the doctor’s office than on the lanes. Despite lingering pain that has limited his activity for much of the 2016 season, he limped into the early PBA Shark Championship qualifying lead before Cain edged him for the top spot.

Weber, at age 54 and bowling in his 782nd PBA Tour event, rolled games of 247, 234, 214, 238, 222, 258, 217 and 212 in Friday’s Shark round, scoring at a 230.25 pace on what many feel is the PBA’s most difficult animal oiling pattern.

He finished three pins ahead of Matt O’Grady, who is having a “career year” in WSOB VIII competition. Fourth was Sam Cooley with 1,830 pins and fifth was Francois Lavoie with 1,806 pins.

After finishing Tuesday’s eight-game Cheetah Championship qualifying round tied for 110th place, Weber switched on the afterburners, finishing 18th in the Chameleon round Wednesday and 32nd on the Scorpion condition Thursday . His 32-game qualifying total of 7,064 pins is easily enough to advance to Sunday’s PBA World Championship cashers round in 13th place.

“I felt like I bowled pretty good on the Cheetah pattern,” he said of his meager start, “but I asked myself, how many different ways can you leave 10 pins? I think I counted about 75.

“I’m throwing the ball really well for being as sore as I am,” he added. “I’m trying to stay focused and not think about the pain.”

Weber said he has recently learned he has scoliosis in his lower spine which is causing severe hip pain. The pain knocked him out of last year’s World Series, but he was able to manage it over the summer months when he had unprecedented success on the PBA50 Tour, winning a record five tournaments in a row, a record six for the year and repeating as both Senior U.S. Open champion and PBA50 Player of the Year.

But as the PBA50 season was winding down in late summer, so was Weber’s pain tolerance.

“I missed all of (the PBA Fall Swing in) Detroit. I started (the PBA Fall Classic) in Vegas and didn’t finish. I didn’t even start the U.S. Open,” he said. “It just kills me; I love to bowl, I love to be out here and it hurts when you have to withdraw or can’t even start a major. Especially the U.S. Open (which he has won a record five times).

“I have three months after we get home to get straightened out for next year’s majors (the PBA will conduct three major championships back-to-back-to-back in February),” he said.

“I’m going to do a CAT scan and that’ll be enough to tell my doctor what he needs to do to me. For now it’s cortisone treatments. It keeps the pain away from my right hip. Not so much on the left side, but so far, the pain hasn’t gotten any worse. I’m going to do everything I possibly can to not have to withdraw.”

EJ Tackett (left), 24, has been consistently among the front-runners in all four World Championship qualifying stages, finishing fifth in the Cheetah round, 20th in the Chameleon, third in the Scorpion stage and seventh on the Shark condition.

The 2013 PBA Rookie of the Year also was dominant in the 56-game World Championship marathon last year before he lost a 215-202 decision to Faulkner in the title match.

“After last year, yes, it’s business not done yet,” Tackett said. “I’ve had a good week so far. I’m getting my ball to do what it’s supposed to do. Hopefully things will hold up. There are still a lot of games left.”

Despite his small stature, Tackett is one of the PBA’s most powerful high-rev players, ranking right at the top alongside the top two-handed power players. When deteriorating lane conditions require players to move into deep inside angles, Tackett not only can play that shot, but loves it.

“I don’t mind it at all,” he grinned.

After his 32 games on the four animal patterns, Tackett held off Moore by seven pins to lead World Champions qualifiers. Cooley was third with 7,249 pins, 91 behind Moore. Beasley was fourth with 7,248 pins and O’Grady was fifth with a 7,231 total. Faulkner (115th place) failed to advance.

Saturday is a day off for WSOB VIII competitors, but action resumes Sunday with the PBA World Championship cashers round at 1 p.m. ET, followed by the first eight-game match play round at 8:30 p.m. ET for the top 24 qualifiers. World Championship competition continues with two eight-game match play rounds Monday at 1 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. ET.

All qualifying and match play elimination rounds in the World Series are being covered live, exclusively by PBA’s online live-streaming service, Xtra Frame. For more information, click here.

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